Cabinet guide and catch assembly



Nov. 29, 1960 E. w. NORTH ETAL CABINET GUIDE AND CATCH ASSEMBLY FiledOct. 15, 1958 J ZZ/wizz VK/Var'f/z- United CABINET GUIDE AND CATCHASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 766,756

Claims. (Cl. 292-275) The present invention relates to anovel guide andcatchassembly forcontrolling the opening and closing of the-doorof amedicine cabinet or the like.

Among, the'objects of the present invention is the provision of a novelassembly of a resilient guide and catch member mounted for pivotal orswivel movement in a cabinet, ,a swivel? aflixed to the door and an armpivotally mounted at one, endinthe swivel and freely slidable through anopening in the guide member and provided withmeans for-limiting theextentof opening of the door, the catch-on said guide member adapted togrip and tensionally retainthe'door in closed position but permit it tobe. readily opened when the. occasion arises.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of anovelassembly; comprising a resilient member pivotally mounted in the cabinetand providing a combined guide, slide;and a catch. for retainingacabinet door c losed;,a-swivel mounted onthe door and anarm connectingthese members, said members being so constructed and arranged as to bereadily and easily assembled by a snap action.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a novelguide member and slide having. a transverse opening through whichprojects and is slidably mounted an arm controlling the extent ofopening of the door ofthe' cabinet,the guide member and slide beingformed of' a resilient plastic compostion and having means; for securelyretaining it in thewall of the, cabinet but permitting it to swiveltherein with movement of the arm.

The present invention further comprehends the provision of a novelresilient catchfor engaging and tensionally gripping the pivotal portionofth'e arm mounted on the door for retaining the latter in closedposition.

Another object of the present invention is the provi sion of a novelswivel on the door for receiving and pivotally mounting one end of thecontrol arm, and novel means for anchoring this swivel on the door.

A further object is the provision of a novel control arm for the doorhaving one end pivotally mounted in the swivel on the door and the otherend slidably mounted in the pivotally mounted catch and slide member,the end of said arm extending through said member having a projectionfor limiting the extent of opening of the door.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity,efiiciency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such furtherobjects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear andare inherently possessed thereby.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a medicine cabinet or the likeembodying the novel guide and catch assembly and showing the position ofthe assembly when the door is fully opened.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the cabinet with the doorclosed and showing the relative position of the guide, swivel and rod ofthe assembly when the door is closed and retained in that position, theview being atcnt taken from beneath the assembly andviewedvinthe'direc-i tion of thearrowsronthe line2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the assembly showninthe position of Fig. 2, includingthe manner of anchoring the swivel inthe door and the guide and catch member in the cabinet.

Fig. 4'is.,aview in side elevation of the disassembled guide andicatchmember.

Fig. 5- isiabottom plan view of the novel guide and catch, the viewbeingtaken in the direction of the arrows on the line 55-of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is aview in end elevation of the novel guide and catch, the viewbeing-taken in the direction-of the arrows on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the: disclosure in the drawing and to thenovel illustrative embodiment of the present invention; thereindisclosed, the novel guide and catch assembly is shown embodied in acabinet such as a sheet metal medicine cabinet or the like 10 having adoor or; closure 11; hingedly or. pivotally mounted at 12 for swingingmovement to open or closed positions.

The novel guide and catch assembly comprises a guide member 13 formed ofa resilientor flexible plastic composition,- such'as nylon, andcomprises a radially-slotted base 14, aspaced substantially rectangularanchoringpart 15 insertablethrough the opening and bearing against theexterior surface of the. top wall- 16 of the cabinet for anchoring theguide member in anopening. in this wall, and an intermediate,cylindricalshank portion 17 conformably received and rotatable in theopeningin the top wall16, the base 14 hearing against the interiorsurface of the wall 16.

The body 18 of the guide member 13 is provided with a keyhole slot 19extending laterally therethrough to receive one end of a curved arm orrod 21 projecting therethrough, andthis end provided with ahook22 for:limiting the are or extent through-which the door 11 may be swung tofullyopen position. The other end of this arm is bent to provide adepending project'on 23 forming a pivotal connection in a swivel orbracket-24 anchored to the interior wall 25 of the door 11.

The swivel or bracket 24 has a base 26 provided .with an offsetanchoring projection 27 at one end insertable into andthrough a slot inthe. wall 250i. the door for reta ningtherein one end of the base andthe other end of thfsbase afiixed to the wall 25 Werivet-orother-attaching means 28. The bracket 24 has spaced outwardlyprojecting flanges or tongues 29 each provided with an opening and theseopenings being aligned and receiving therein the depending projection 23of the arm 21.

The body 18 of the resilient guide member 13 is recessed or reduced at31 (Figs. 3 and 4), and below said recess is prov'ded with a slottedcatch 32 provided with laterallv projecting and elongated flexible armsor bifurcations 33 each recessed at 34 adjacent its outer or free endwith the inwardly opening recesses adapted to conformably receivetherein and resiliently retain the depending projection 23 on the end ofthe arm 21 when the door 11 is moved to closed position (Figs. 2 and 3).

When the door is opened, the guide member 13 through which projects andslides the arm 21 is rotated in its mounting in the upper wall 16 of thecabinet 10 by the movement of the arm to permit the door to be openedfreely. When the door is fully open as disclosed in Fig. l, the hookedend 22 of the arm 21 contacts the adjacent face of the guide member 13which forms a stop or abutment and limits the arc of movement of thedoor.

The guide member 13 being formed or composed of a resilient or flexibleplastic composition, such as Nylon, is highly resistant to wear in itspivotal mounting in the wall 16 of the cabinet 10, in its frictionalcontact with the arm 21 which is slidable therethrough as it is carriedby the door, and in its resilient arms 33 which form a catch fortensionally gripping the depending projection 23 on the arm 21 andretaining the door 11 in closed position but permitting the door to beopened by a slight pull.

The component parts of the present assembly are detachably mounted by asnap action whereby to greatly facilitate their assembly. Unlike priorconstructions, the control arm or red 21 is not aflixed to the swivel 24on the door 11. The latter without the arm 21 attached is secured to thedoor by a single rivet or attaching means 28 at one end of the base 26,its other end 27 being offset and readily inserted through and anchoredin an opening in the interior wall 25 of the door.

The hooked end 22 of the arm 21 is assembled in the guide member byinserting this end through the keyhole slot 19, and when the assembledarm is rotated through approximately 90", this hooked end retains itagainst disengagement. The plastic guide member 13 snaps readily into anopening in the cabinet wall 16 and is freely swivelled therein to permitits contained arm 21 to be freely slidable.

With the guide member pivotally mounted in the cabinet and the swivelattached to the door, as above described, the projecting end 23 of thearm 21 is easily and quickly snapped into the aligned openings in theswivel 24 to thus complete the assembly.

Having thus disclosed the invention, we claim:

1. A guide and catch assembly for the door of a cabinet, comprising aguide and slide member of a resilient composition having a body partprovided with a keyhole slot projecting therethrough intermediate itsends, an anchoring projection at one end of said body part for pivotallymounting said member in an opening in the cabinet, the other end of saidmember provided with spaced resilient arms, a swivel mounted on saiddoor and having spaced flanges each having an opening arranged invertical alignment, and a curved control arm having a dependingprojection on one end removably and pivotally mounted in the openings inthe flanges of said swivel, said arm being slidable through said slot inthe guide member and having a lateral projection limiting the extent ofopening of the door, whereby the spaced resilient arms on the guidemember are adapted to receive therebetween and tensionally retain thedepending projection of the control arm mounted in said swivel when thedoor is closed.

2. A guide and catch assembly for the door of a cabinet as set forth inclaim 1, in which each of said resilient arms has an inwardly openingrecess adjacent its free end with said recesses being aligned forreceiving and tensionally retaining the depending end of the curvedcontrol arm.

3. A guide and catch assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which theprojection on the end of the curved control arm is so contoured as topass through said keyhole slot in one position and retain said controlarm against disengagement when the latter is rotated from the said oneposition. v

4. In a guide and catch assembly for the door of a cabinet provided withan opening, a member composed of a resilient composition and providedwith a body part having a keyhole slot projecting therethroughintermediate its ends, an anchoring projection on one end of said bodypart for pivotally mounting said member in the opening in the cabinet,and a catch on the other end of said body part for retaining the doorclosed, a curved arm having one end slidably mounted in the slot in saidmember and a mounting on the door of the cabinet comprising a bracketwith a horizontal flange having an opening, a depending projection onthe other end of the curved arm detachably and pivotally mounted in theopening in said flange, said catch having spaced resilient arms forreceiving and tensionally retaining the depending end of the arm whenthe door is closed.

5. In a guide and catch assembly for the door of a cabinet having a rodfor limiting the extent of opening of said door, a guide and slidemember therefor comprising a body part having a keyhole slot projectingtherethrough intermediate its ends, a substantially rectangularanchoring flange on one end of said body part to anchor the member inthe cabinet, a bifurcated arm on the other end of said body part andextending parallel to the axis of said keyhole slot with thebifurcations being spaced apart and flexible and having inwardly openingrecesses adjacent the free ends of said bifurcations for receiving andtensionally retaining an end of said rod and holding the door of thecabinet closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS346,194 Coultaus July 27, 1886 2,584,375 Widmer a a1 Feb. 5, 19522,651,805 Laible Sept. 15, 1953 2,669,475 Kinker Feb. 16, 954

FOREIGN PATENTS '2 246,993 Great Britain Feb. 11, 1926

